ethnobotany_flashcards
What is ethnobotany?
The scientific study of how traditional societies use plants for food, building materials, fabrics, medicine, and spiritual purposes.
What percentage of prescription drugs are derived from plants?
0.25
What is an ‘herbal’?
A collection of plant drawings with written descriptions, detailing habitats and medicinal uses.
What ancient text from Egypt catalogs over 850 herbal remedies?
The Ebers Papyrus.
What Greek text described over 600 medicinal plants?
De Materia Medica.
What was the Doctrine of Signatures?
A belief that a plant’s appearance indicated the ailments it could treat.
Give an example of the Doctrine of Signatures.
Bloodroot’s red juice was used for blood disorders.
Name two modern approaches to discovering medicinal plants.
Ethnobotanical approach (consulting traditional healers) and phylogenetic surveys (studying plant relationships).
What is an herbarium?
A library of dried plants used for research on plant distribution and life cycles.
Who coined the term ‘plant blindness’ and when?
James H. Wandersee and Elisabeth E. Schussler in 1999.
What does plant blindness describe?
A general insensitivity to plants and their importance, often due to a zoocentric focus.
How does plant blindness affect biodiversity?
It contributes to the deterioration of biodiversity, with over 20% of plant species threatened with extinction.
What ancient philosopher believed plants weren’t truly alive?
Aristotle.
How are plants and humans molecularly similar?
Both share fundamental DNA components (C, G, A, T), and structures like hemoglobin and chloroplasts have similar ring structures.
What event was critical for Earth’s oxygenation?
The Great Oxygen Event.
What are the four main parts of a plant and their functions?
Roots (anchor and absorb nutrients), stems (provide structure, transport nutrients), leaves (photosynthesis), and flowers (reproduction).
What makes a plant cell unique?
Cell wall, large vacuole, and chloroplasts.
What is the difference between monocotyledons and dicotyledons?
Monocots have one seed leaf, parallel veins, and floral parts in multiples of three. Dicots have two seed leaves, net-like veins, and floral parts in multiples of four or five.
Who developed binomial nomenclature?
Carl Linnaeus.
What is the scientific name for potato?
Solanum tuberosum.
When did the shift from foraging to agriculture occur?
Around 8000 BC, during the Neolithic Revolution.
What are agricultural hearths?
Regions where agriculture first developed and spread from.
Name two crops domesticated in Mesoamerica.
Maize and beans.
What is domestication?
The process by which wild plants are adapted for human use, leading to genetic, morphological, and physiological changes.
What family do cereals belong to?
The Poaceae family (grasses).
Name three major cereals.
Wheat, rice, and corn.
What part of the grain is rich in protein?
The aleurone layer.
What modification prevents wild grains from dispersing seeds too easily?
Selection for non-shattering spikelets.
What is triticale?
A hybrid of wheat and rye with high yields and tolerance for marginal soils.
What is the world’s most important crop in terms of dependency?
Rice (Oryza sativa), with 1.7 billion people relying on it.
What cereal was a staple food for Roman gladiators?
Barley (Hordeum vulgare).
What is the significance of ethnobotany?
It helps preserve traditional knowledge and understand how societies use plants for food, medicine, and materials.
When and where were the first clay tablets with medicinal information recorded?
2000 BC in Sumeria.
What plant was the source of the anticancer drug Taxol?
The Pacific Yew tree.
Why is an herbarium important in plant research?
It serves as a primary source of information on plant distribution, flowering times, and medicinal properties.
What is the main reason for studying ethnobotany today?
To understand plant consumption patterns and preserve indigenous knowledge that is rapidly being lost.
What is plant blindness?
A general insensitivity to the importance of plants, often due to a focus on animals in biology education.
How does urbanization contribute to plant blindness?
It disconnects people from natural sources of food, fuel, and fiber, leading to reduced awareness of plant importance.
What event played a crucial role in Earth’s oxygenation?
The Great Oxygen Event.
What unique structures differentiate plant cells from animal cells?
Cell walls, large vacuoles, and chloroplasts.
What are monocotyledons?
Plants with one seed leaf, parallel veins, and floral parts in multiples of three.
What are dicotyledons?
Plants with two seed leaves, net-like veins, and floral parts in multiples of four or five.
What is binomial nomenclature and who developed it?
A universal classification system for naming species, developed by Carl Linnaeus.
What shift marked the beginning of agriculture?
The Neolithic Revolution around 8000 BC, when people began settling and cultivating crops.
What crops were first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent?
Wheat, barley, lentils, and opium poppy.
What is domestication in terms of plants?
The process by which wild plants are adapted to human use, leading to genetic and morphological changes.
What family do cereals like wheat, rice, and corn belong to?
The Poaceae family (grasses).
What are the nutrient-rich layers of a grain?
The bran, aleurone layer, endosperm, and germ.
What is triticale?
A hybrid of wheat and rye with higher yields and adaptability to marginal soils.
Which cereal is considered the staple food for 1.7 billion people?
Rice (Oryza sativa).
How have humans modified grasses for agricultural purposes?
By selecting for erect growth, stronger stalks, and non-shattering spikelets.
